SCP Vice President for Scientific Affairs Candidate Statements

Evelyn Hunter, Ph.D.

What is your vision as SCP Vice-President for Scientific Affairs?
It is an honor to be nominated for SCP’s Vice President of Scientific Affairs. Counseling Psychology (CP) is in a pivotal moment as we move toward a liberating psychological framework. To this end, it is imperative that we engage a critical framework in our scientific methodologies and commitments such that our psychological science aligns with our professional values. As such, my priorities in the role of VP of Scientific Affairs would be to engage panels of experts in the CP community around building the following:
  1. Best practices in equitable scientific methodologies (including critical, participatory, qualitative, and quantitative frameworks),
  2. Anti-racist strategies in psychological science with Black/Brown communities,
  3. Affirmative science with trans and nonbinary communities,
  4. Strengthening the science to practice (and practice to science) relationship to enhance access to culturally appropriate, liberating, and evidence-based psychotherapy practices for BIPOC, lower income, and trans and nonbinary communities.

Across all initiatives, I envision centering education and training for students and ECPs, dissemination for the broader science community, and strengthening collaborative relationships (including APA Board of Scientific Affairs, local, state, and federal funding agencies, and foundations interested in psychological science). I am a committed scientist-advocate-practitioner engaged in studying how nuanced racial stressors perpetuate disparities in psychological and physiological health for people of color. If elected VP of Scientific Affairs, I would utilize my expertise as a psychological scientist, practitioner, and trainer to build SCP’s scientific reach and strengthen our collective understanding of engaging liberating psychological science alongside the communities we serve.

How would you address this vision and support the division’s efforts to address anti-Black racism within our structures and practices? 
Anti-Black racism is a consequence of developing in the context of white supremacy. In my own experience, anti-Black racism tries to infringe upon my sense of self (e.g., imposter syndrome), my values (e.g., definitions of “professionalism”), and my understanding of “worth” in psychological science (e.g., what is evidence-based) I am committed to fighting anti-Black racism across contexts and if elected to the VPSA position, I will commit in the following specific ways:
  • As the VP of Scientific Affairs:
    • I commit to engage initiatives that directly oppose anti-Black racism, including a specific initiative to explore anti-racist strategies in psychological science.
  • As a member of the SCP Executive Board:
    • I commit to engaging in executive board training around fighting anti-Black racism.
    • I commit to challenging anti-Black racism that may arise in the context of executive board meetings, programming, and/or other SCP functions.
  • As a Psychologist engaged in science, practice, and training:
    • I commit to engaging a critical look at how anti-Black racism has embedded itself in my own science, practice, and academic training environments and engaging a specific plan related to fighting anti-Black racism across my environments.
  • As a human committed to caring deeply for other humans:
    • I commit to considering the ways in which my own areas of privilege intersect with the ways I engage the fight against anti-Black racism. In doing so, I commit to decrease the oppressive impacts of anti-Black racism on LGBTQ+, lower income, and other/non- religious identified communities.

Cisco Sánchez, Ph.D.

What is your vision as SCP Vice-President for Scientific Affairs?

Our field of Counseling Psychology is only as strong as the scientific basis upon which we work as professionals.  This is a guiding philosophy that was instilled in me during my extensive post-doctoral training (and my subsequent first position as a research scientist) in human genetics and neuroendocrinology. Being in a basic-science lab within a school of medicine for over a decade made me appreciate the need for applied work being based on sound scientific research versus solely on one’s intuition or emotions. Although at times something may feel right or just, we must be particularly careful when offering suggestions or applying interventions that can have long-lasting and irreversible effects.  And it is this guiding philosophy that I believe can continue to advance our field.

Thus, I am honored to be nominated as Vice President for Scientific Affairs.  In addition to serving as the Division 17’s Presidential Representative to the 2017 National Multicultural Conference and Summit, I have been actively involved in governance within other Divisions and within the greater APA.  Consequently, I have had the opportunity to work closely with and to establish relationships within the APA Science Directorate and with past members of the APA Board of Scientific Affairs.  Moreover, my unique aforementioned training, my experience publishing in both life-science and social-science journals, and my long-standing membership in other scientific societies (namely AAAS and APS) have provided me with unique experiences that I will draw from in my duties as a Vice President.

 How would you address this vision and support the division’s efforts to address anti-Black racism within our structures and practices? 

Since 2017, we have lived through the darkest period in modern U.S. history.  Yet the intensity of the past 15 months—during which we witnessed blatant racial discrimination, especially at the hands of law enforcement; the differential health outcomes in the midst of a pandemic largely due to racial/income inequality; and the attempted overthrow of our government by White supremacists—has taken a significant psychological toll on all of us.  As we move forward under a new Administration that is again using science to inform public policy, Counseling Psychologists can play a key role as our nation moves towards reconciliation and healing.

That is, we are uniquely situated to be able to help inform policy makers.  Counseling Psychology at its core has long included a strong focus on multicultural and social justice issues—a characteristic that makes us unique from other sub-disciplines of psychology.  Our scientific work can and should be used to help inform decision makers as we work on addressing anti-Black racism.  Thus, as Vice President, I will continue promoting the scientific work that our members and affiliates engage in.  I will seek opportunities to liaise with groups that are focusing on anti-racism research to establish two-way communication while developing interdisciplinary, collaborative programming for professional conferences.  And I will engage with